General Assembly Convenes for 2016 Session
Wednesday the Missouri General Assembly convened for its 2016 session. House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Popular Bluff) set out some legislative priorities in an address to the Missouri House. See this...
View ArticleSenate Committee Hears Bill to End the Death Penalty
The Senate General Laws and Pensions Committee heard a bill on Tuesday, Jan. 19 that would end the death penalty in Missouri. Sponsored by Sen. Paul Wieland (R-Imperial) SB 816 would make life without...
View ArticleEx-offenders Testify in Support of Expungement Bills
Recognizing the prison reform movement that is gaining popularity across the country, the Senate Judiciary Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence this week heard several bills that deal with the expungement...
View ArticleHouse Committee Hears Juvenile Sentencing Bill
This week the House Civil and Criminal Proceedings Committee heard HB 1995, sponsored by Rep. Robert Cornejo (R-St. Peters). This bill specifies that an individual found guilty of murder in the...
View ArticleSupreme Court Rules that Juveniles with Life Sentences for Murder Must Have a...
This week the U.S. Supreme Court in Montgomery v. Louisiana ruled that any juvenile sentenced to life imprisonment for murder must have a chance to argue for release. In a 6-3 ruling the court held...
View ArticleDirector of DOC Confronted About Executioners’ Payments
This week George Lombardi, Director of the Department of Corrections (DOC), faced tough questions before the Appropriations Committee on Public Safety and Corrections regarding payments made to...
View ArticleMCC Testifies in Support of Early Parole of Geriatric Inmates
This week the House Corrections Committee heard a bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Lair (R-Chillicothe) that would allow for the early parole of geriatric inmates. Under HB 1963, any incarcerated offender...
View ArticleSenate Committee Hears Bills for Juvenile Reform
This week the Senate heard two bills relating to how juvenile offenders are treated. Sponsored by Sen. Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau) SB 618 would keep juveniles under 17 who are charged with a...
View ArticleHouse Committee Passes Juvenile Sentencing Bill
Agreeing that youth should be treated differently than adults, the House Select Judiciary Committee this week passed HB 1995 by a vote of 7-2. Sponsored by Rep. Robert Cornejo (R-St. Peter) the bill...
View ArticleExpungement Bills Combined, Continue to Move
An effort to expunge certain offenses from an individual’s criminal record is gaining traction in the legislature. The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence recently voted...
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